The strategy

All of us have strategy -mostly shallow ones- for quenching our deepest thirsts. What's yours? Identifying your main strategy can be tricky, like trying to see your nose without a mirror. Often our plant to "find life" gets so woven into our psyche that it becomes invisible. Even when we do identify that strategy, it's terrifying to imagine life without it.

Are we willing to reconsider our strategy? It may not be bad, but it may also be far less than God intends you. Ask yourself, are you open to growth -to change?
What are hoping for? What are you counting on? Let's probe some common strategies with spiritual eyes for a minute.

Some people bank on the strategy of finding Mr. or Miss Right, getting married, and having a loving family. That's all good, but a marriage license doesn't guarantee love, faithfulness, or security.
Let's say you've found "the one", got married, have had love, contentment, and security -would you be happy? I doubt it since your basic spiritual needs are still unmet. So how do you get spiritual qualities like love, contentment and security?

Maybe your strategy is: "If I can just reach a certain financial level, reach my career and lifestyle goals, then I'll have a life!" Material success -not a bad thing in itself, but is it really enough? Is it all you want? (Maybe you're thinking, "All I want is a chance to prove that lots of money and success is not enough!")

Consider this: imagine you have all the money, status, and toys you ever dreamed of, but you aren't content, don't you experience joy, and don't feel your life matters -is it enough? Or do you want real contentment, personal confidence, lasting purpose and maybe even a generous heart too? Do these spiritual qualities really come from attaining more stuff? What are your heart's deepest desires?

Maybe you've been deeply wounded in the past. As result, your strategy may center on becoming self-sufficient and independently strong. You don't need anyone. But can inner strength or lasting security be found in isolation? Where do you find spiritual strength and security for displace all your fears despite living in a dangerous world?

For many in our generation the strategy of choice is to live for the next extreme rush—instant—gratification purchases, quick-dry thrills to fill the cracks in your soul, endorphin—-rushed romances and sexual highs, chemically dependent and uninhibited fun— all because it’s the closest it comes to feeling alive.

But ultimately these strategies destroy the life you seek. Thrills get boring, highs leave you low, romance wilts as fast as it blooms, and sex becomes a series of morning-afters. So where do you go to find lasting spiritual qualities, like excitement with peace, adventure with security, and lasting intimacy with sexual contentment?

As C.S. Lewis realized, the problem is usually not that we want too much; it's that we settle for too little. Deep down we deceive ourselves. We believe two things: "My strategy will work" and "God will get in the way of what I really want" but both are lies! The first because is fake and the second because God wants to meet our deepest desires.